White House Says United States Has No Plans to Impose Sanctions on Israeli Officials

JAKARTA - The United States does not plan to impose sanctions on Israeli government officials, after previously it was reported that a number of Israeli ministers would be subject to Washington sanctions.

A senior White House official said it currently has no plans to target Israeli officials with economic sanctions, after President Joe Biden's administration imposed sanctions on four people accused directly of violence or intimidation in the West Bank.

"There are no plans to impose sanctions on Israeli government officials at this time," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters, reported by CNN, February 2.

"This is an initial set of appointments. I won't give a preview of whether there will be more or not, but these are new tools that we will consider using appropriately," he explained.

Previously, Axios reported on Thursday that the government was considering imposing sanctions on several ultra-conservative Israeli ministers, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

The two ministers are known to have vocally called for the mass relocation of Palestinians from Gaza to make way for Israeli settlers.

Ben-Gvir himself is a right-wing minister who previously made controversial statements and actions, even before the Hamas-Israel war broke out in Gaza last October 7.

When he took office in January 2023, he visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque Complex, a move that drew criticism because it could lead to escalation. A week later, he instructed police to remove Palestinian flags in public spaces.

After the war broke out in Gaza, Ben-Gvir criticized the government several times. Last December, he threatened to leave the coalition if the war with Hamas did not resume with full force.

He also took steps to arm Israeli civilians following the Hamas attack on October 7 and, according to The New York Times, promised 10,000 weapons to cities across Israel, including Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories.

Most recently, he warned that he would not agree to any decision to release prisoners linked to the Hamas militant group, in what he called the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, part of Israel's hostage release proposal.